Travel hopes 2021

The UK will be open to US travelers soon to those that have proof of vaccinations according to reports on CNBC. The are estimating around the June/July timeframe.
 
explanade said:
Immanuel Macron was interviewed on Face the Nation today and he says the EU and US are working on permitting tourism between the US and Europe this summer.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...-american-travelers/vi-BB1fMwWb?ocid=msedgdhp

It's the first couple of minutes of that interview.

Of course they have to get their infection rates under control. Maybe the US does as well.
Click to expand...

I watched the interview. Macron was very careful with his wording. I don't blame him, but the reality is that Europe is probably 2-3 months behind the USA, assuming they can get the vaccine they need in the amounts they need, and overcome some of the AZ concerns (real and imagined). We recently hit 50% with at least one shot in the arm. That seems to be the level at which the infection rate starts to drop dramatically. It's not victory, but it's a whole lot better than what Europe has at the moment. The UK excepted, of course.
 
Not planning any big travel again this year, but OK with it.
Really wouldn't want to be anywhere where covid numbers are high and businesses are closed, even though I am vaccinated.
Will plan for next year, and probably be fighting for spaces along with every other traveler!
 
brett said:
We are no longer hopeful of going to Europe in the late fall.
Click to expand...
That's the way I feel, especially adding in the question of what one will be allowed to do after getting there.

I have no expectation of going to Europe or Canada before this time next year.
 
I was talking this morning to my close friend who lives in Lugano, Switzerland--45 minutes north of Milan.

He said that the restaurants are still shut down there, and everyone's still wearing masks--including school children. They continue to be essentially locked down.

And he's working from home as his company's offices are not currently being used. They don't know when the offices will reopen, but he's looking to future work there to be half office, and half from home.

My friend, wife and child have not been home (Chicago) since 7/2019, and don't expect to make it this summer. He's in his 60's, and expects to get the COVID shot before the end of the summer.

This pandemic goes both ways--for expats. At least in the U.S., we can travel domestically with lower risks. And where I live, our hospitalizations are down dramatically. Although our state no longer has a mask mandate, everyone seems to be wearing them in public.
 
My best guess is perhaps going to Europe to visit family very late in the year. We’ll stick to domestic travel before then.

I’m quite skeptical about June for France. Maybe vaccinated visitors can arrive, but what will there be to do? How much of the French population will be vaccinated?

We shall see how it unfolds.
 
Last edited:
audreyh1 said:
My best guess is perhaps going to Europe to visit family very late in the year. We’ll stick to domestic travel before then.

I’m quite skeptical about June for France. Maybe vaccinated visitors can arrive, but what will there be to do? How much of the French population will be vaccinated?

We shall see how it unfolds.
Click to expand...


What will there be to do? Well, hike the Tour du Mont Blanc for one thing. That’s on my hopes and plans.
 
MuirWannabe said:
What will there be to do? Well, hike the Tour du Mont Blanc for one thing. That’s on my hopes and plans.
Click to expand...

That is serious trek:

THE TOUR DU MONT BLANC IN EUROPE

The Tour du Mont Blanc is the most popular long-distance trek in Europe that covers a total distance of approximately 170km depending on which route is taken (some variants can be sorter or longer than the original section). The daily height gain on the Mont Blanc circuit is substantial, and overall the accumulation over the 10 days is in the region of 9,000m.

The Tour du Mont Blanc route takes you over 8 mountain cols and through 3 Alpine regions within France, Italy and Switzerland, circumnavigating the Mont Blanc. The scenery is second to none, from the broken rocky lunar landscape of the Aiguille Rouges to the pasturelands of the Contamines valley; every day has something different to offer, yet there is one common factor - the constant backdrop of the Mont Blanc range.
Click to expand...

https://montblanctreks.com/tour-du-mont-blanc/trek-overview

You'd be gasping for air even if you didn't have covid.:LOL:
 
We are still lock and loaded for our Dolomite trip.

In honor of my 70 yo body we are doing only 7-9 miles per day.

Mid June we will know if it is a go or not. Not vaccinated, but even my Wal-Mart can do it in a weeks time.
 
grasshopper said:
We are still lock and loaded for our Dolomite trip.

In honor of my 70 yo body we are doing only 7-9 miles per day.

Mid June we will know if it is a go or not. Not vaccinated, but even my Wal-Mart can do it in a weeks time.
Click to expand...


Best wishes to you grasshopper. I’d be interested to learn more about this. The Dolomites are ruggedly beautiful. What circuit are you hiking? With a tour provider?

Hope you’re able to go also. Your timeframe sounds similar to ours.
 
We have rebooked our European tour that was booked for 2020 for 2022.
Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Madrid, Douro River cruise to Porto then Lisbon.
Here is hoping. We skipped 2021 because we are realists.

It is one of the few times we have taken trip cancellation insurance and it paid off.
 
We are seeing an increase in cruise prices. But we are also seeing a decrease in land costs. I have not followed car rental pricing.

Cannot count how many great offers we have rec'd for land tours, hotels, and resorts thru to next year. Europe, North America/Mexico and most especially SE Asia.

We have been watching air fares. The Europe fares seem to be holding steady...about 10-15 percent higher than we paid same time last year.

SE Asia flights for next winter on one of our preferred airlines recently dropped by 25 percent. They are at a similar sale price level that we have paid in prior years.

The big question for us will be what LCCs in Europe and Asia will survive and what will their pricing look like.
 
kcowan said:
We have rebooked our European tour that was booked for 2020 for 2022.
Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Madrid, Douro River cruise to Porto then Lisbon.
Here is hoping. We skipped 2021 because we are realists.

It is one of the few times we have taken trip cancellation insurance and it paid off.
Click to expand...
Sounds great!

We missed out on an extensive Portugal section of our trip in 1999 due to an ailing parent. One of these days!!
 
kcowan said:
We have rebooked our European tour that was booked for 2020 for 2022.
Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Madrid, Douro River cruise to Porto then Lisbon.
Here is hoping. We skipped 2021 because we are realists.

It is one of the few times we have taken trip cancellation insurance and it paid off.
Click to expand...

You had a CFAR policy?

They don't cover 100% of whatever you declared right?
 
MuirWannabe said:
Thanks for this encouraging news. Our TMB trip is planned for July. Hoping France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany are all opened up by then. I’m really looking forward to going.

I had been getting discouraged at the slowness of governments removing their restrictions. This is good news.
Click to expand...

Switzerland is having difficulties rolling out their vaccines. They just started opening up for outdoor dining. I don't think that they will open up to the world until late summer. The problem with international travel is wearing a mask during the flight. I took a five hour flight from LAX to FLL last October and it was a terrible experience and that was in first class on a 787 Dreamliner. I wouldn't want to wear a mask on a 12-14 hour flight. It would be helpful if they limited travel to vaccinated passengers and dropped the mask requirement.
 
Freedom56 said:
Switzerland is having difficulties rolling out their vaccines. They just started opening up for outdoor dining. I don't think that they will open up to the world until late summer. The problem with international travel is wearing a mask during the flight. I took a five hour flight from LAX to FLL last October and it was a terrible experience and that was in first class on a 787 Dreamliner. I wouldn't want to wear a mask on a 12-14 hour flight. It would be helpful if they limited travel to vaccinated passengers and dropped the mask requirement.
Click to expand...

I'm actually surprised they haven't started doing "vaccinated only" flights. They could charge a premium for these flights and require proof of vaccination and drop the mask requirement. The airlines could still have regular flights, but throw a few of these in as well. My guess is they'd get a lot of interest.
 
dirtbiker said:
I'm actually surprised they haven't started doing "vaccinated only" flights. They could charge a premium for these flights and require proof of vaccination and drop the mask requirement. The airlines could still have regular flights, but throw a few of these in as well. My guess is they'd get a lot of interest.
Click to expand...

Interesting concept and I agree.
 
Freedom56 said:
Switzerland is having difficulties rolling out their vaccines. They just started opening up for outdoor dining. I don't think that they will open up to the world until late summer. The problem with international travel is wearing a mask during the flight. I took a five hour flight from LAX to FLL last October and it was a terrible experience and that was in first class on a 787 Dreamliner. I wouldn't want to wear a mask on a 12-14 hour flight. It would be helpful if they limited travel to vaccinated passengers and dropped the mask requirement.
Click to expand...


Yea, I agree it’s a bummer to fly that long with a mask. But I’ll do it if the countries are open. I usually take an ambien for sleep, so maybe that’ll help.

Right now I’m just hoping these countries are open by mid July. It’s gonna be a close call probably.
 
DH just planned our first 2021 trip this morning :dance:. He is so bummed about not being able to travel that I suggested we look at local, up to a week long road trips. We'll be visiting the Shasta area. Now to find out when the roads will be open. Our 2 kitties will be able to get reacquainted with the cat sitter.
 
For those of you contemplating long flights I suggest you try KN95 masks. They are lightweight and give good protection but are set away from your face and allow you to breath. DH recently had knee replacement surgery and I was at the hospital for 12 hours and wore a KN95 mask for 12 hours and found it comfortable--I even forgot I was wearing it after a while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom